Money Saving Monday: Garage Saling

 

I'm trying to remember the exact time in my life where I pretty much ditched department store shopping and replaced it with thrifting. (When I say "thrifting", I mean thrift stores, garage sales, craigslist, Facebook buy/sell sites, used clothing stores/consignment stores, estate sales, and hand-me downs/freebies.) I'm pretty sure the change happened during my transition from high school to college.  But I think I got serious about it during college. Of course this time in my life makes perfect sense that I would start seriously thrifting because I was completely broke and was living on my own for the first time. However, I do have to give some credit to my friend and roommate at the time, who was super creative, fun, and also thrifted. My roommate and I even had "Goodwill runs" where we'd go thrifting for creative projects, decorations, and furniture. Obviously, the things I thrift for now have changed quite a bit when you add 10 years, a husband, 3 kids and 7 moves across the country. During these past 10 years, I've learned some valuable lessons when it comes to thrifting. These days, my favorite types of thrifting are Garage Sales and thrift stores. This post will focus on garage sales only. Don't worry; I'll do another post on thrift stores soon.

 

Having lived in the Midwest the majority of my life (27 years), the Pacific Northwest for 1 year and now the South for 2 years, I was pleasantly surprised by how vastly different the entire garage sale experience is depending on your zip code. In Kansas, Wichita area specifically, most of the cities and little towns have "city-wide garage sales". This. Is. Awesome. I mean, seriously, a true thrifter's dream come true. You can find the list by googling it and I used to put them on my calendar and try to make as many as I could. Also, garage sales almost ALWAYS started on Thursdays, continued Fridays and concluded on Saturdays. But the best thing about garage sales in the Wichita, KS area was the fact that you could basically just drive around certain parts of town during garage sale season (April-August) and hit easily 20-30 sales in a 5 mile radius. If you had the entire morning you could hit even more sales. 

 

In the Pacific Northwest, I realized that there weren't "city-wide garage sales", most of the sales were Saturday-only sales, and I couldn't just drive around and plan on hitting even ONE garage sale (let alone 30) on any given Saturday during garage sale season. I had to improvise using Craigslist to "search" for both close garage sales and/or needed items. This took the spontaneity out of it a little, but it worked. I've found that here in the South, it is similar to the Pacific Northwest experience except I have found certain neighborhoods that have "neighborhood sales". I like to find them by searching for "neighborhood garage sale" in craigslist. I like these because I use way less gas and so my savings increase.

 

Nevertheless, a garage sale is a garage sale; these tips aren't necessarily location-specific. But they will help you garage sale like a boss.
 

Top Thrifting Tips for Garage Sales

1.  Have a list in mind of what you NEED. "Need" and "Want" are two very different things. My husband is very good at reminding me to "only buy what we need" when I go garage saling...Maybe TOO good at reminding me. But in all honesty, he's right. I strive for that ideal because browsing other people's junk with no list in mind leads to purchasing items that end up being in YOUR garage sale in a year or so. Believe me. I know.
2. Only bring as much cash as you're willing to spend for said items on your list. For example, if you're looking for a couch and willing to spend $200 max, only bring $200.
3. If possible, plan ahead by browsing on craigslist, the newspaper, garage sale apps (I don't have an iPhone, so I'm not sure what those apps are, but I know they exist) or other social media a   week or so ahead of time to search out said list of items to see if any garage sales are close to you.
4. Look for any neighborhood sales or city-wide sales 1st. You are bound to find some things on your list by hitting massive amounts of sales vs. a few scattered sales. Plus, it saves gas money since you're driving in a concentrated area vs. miles stretched between various locations. 
5.  Go on the first day of the sale if possible. I used to think just going on the final day of the sale was good enough, but there's a reason people rush the 1st day of a sale: the best deals get taken fast! This is especially true for big ticket items like furniture and appliances. The only downfall to going on the 1st day of sales is the fact that people usually aren't willing to haggle down prices quite yet (and with good reason).
6. Go on the last day of the sale if possible. By this point, in general people are just plain done: they are tired of the sale; tired of the haggling; tired of their unsold junk lying around; and, frankly in most cases, getting desperate to make a sale so they won't have to either haul a load to the thrift store or pack it up in storage again. (Having been on the other side of hosting a garage sale, this is definitely how I feel by the end.)
7. Go garage saling during rainy weather. Seriously. All the points in #6 are 10X's more true during rainy weather because they have had less customers and are even more desperate to get rid of their junk. I have found some of my best deals during rainy weather sales including a pack 'n play for $15  and they threw in the baby walker because I was hesitating on the offer.
8. Never be afraid to ask a lower price. Especially on the last day of the sale. And especially if it's the last day of the sale and it's raining. I was at one said sale and this lady happened to be pregnant and happened to be moving. (I may or may not have been eavesdropping while I was shopping).  I ended up with a handful of my now favorite cardigans from Gap and Banana Republic for probably a quarter a piece. Cute, right?
   

   

    But really, the worse they can say when you haggle is "no" and you'll never know if you don't ask. Back when we were living in KS during the 1st two years of medical school, I started offering 1/2 of their asking price (mostly with kids' clothes) right off the bat and was usually surprised by how many times a deal was made. Don't judge. Desperately poor times call for desperate measures like becoming a shameless garage-sale haggler. Get your price that you want to offer in mind before you ask if they'd take lower and be prepared for them to say "no". One type of garage sale I DON'T haggle at are fundraiser garage sales. That's just tacky.
9. Don't settle when looking for items on your list. Don't just buy it because it's "close enough" to what you need. If you have the time, your item will be sure to show up and you'll be glad you waited. An example of this is my dining room table. When we moved to Alabama, we actually had a formal dining room which we had not had in the past. It drove me crazy to see the empty space and so I started doing my search for table/chairs set. I started looking in July but did not find my set until mid November. I'm glad I didn't settle or spend more just to get the set; it was something worth waiting for since it wasn't a necessity in the house (we already had a kitchen table/chairs set).
10. Don't be afraid to ask the hosts of the sale for the items you're looking for. Especially if you're in a hurry. This strategy has found me some awesome finds including the legos pictured below. I asked if she had any boy toys and she pulled them out and made me an offer I couldn't refuse of $5.

Top Items to Buy at Garage Sales

1. Baby and kid clothes and shoes. My theory about kids' clothes is that I'm going to keep buying second-hand until they start caring and hopefully that won't happen for a while. Plus, kids are so rough on clothes that it's just more practical to buy it cheap so it can be easily replaced. There have been NUMEROUS occasions, especially during that new baby, breastfeeding, diaper-blow-out stage where I simply threw the onsie away because it just wasn't worth my time or the $0.25 I spent on the darn thing for me to scrub any nasty stains out. It may sound gross, but that is the exact reason I try to buy used training pants/underwear for the kids at garage sales. It's just easier to toss it in the trash when it only cost a quarter. I try to find clothes between $0.50 and $1.00, but have been known to spend more if in good condition. I like to spend around $1.00 for shoes but I also pay more depending on quality. I got these adorable sketchers for Gianna when visiting in KS a couple weeks ago at a city wide garage sale in Andale. I paid $1.00 for them!
   

   

    
2. Maternity and women's clothing (clothes for me!).  Most of my maternity clothes are boxed up in storage now but this shirt I recently bought at a city wide garage sale in KS a couple weeks ago for $1. It's in great shape and you can tell by how new the "Motherhood" tag looks and the lack of washing machine wear on the shirt.
   

   

   Maternity clothes is so expensive if bought new, even if on sale. I LOVE to buy maternity clothes at garage sales, even if I'm not pregnant. I just put it in my "maternity" box at home and then when I am pregnant, it's like Christmas! Some of my favorite maternity finds through the years have been: shirts, dresses, jeans, shorts, pajamas and even bras (Those nursing bras are SO expensive and you can never have enough. Once you know a brand and size that worked the first time around, it's crazy to pass it up at $1.00.). I have only a few pieces I bought full price at a department store and I'm okay with that.
3. Baby equipment. I got this baby gate for $5 and the safety night light (it screws into the wall so that kids can't unplug it or take the bulb out) for $0.50 a few years ago while living in KS.
   

   

   As long as it can be wiped down or thrown in the washer-it's fair game. Some of my favorite baby finds through the years have been: pack 'n plays, baby walkers, strollers, bouncy seats, booster seats, potty chairs (yep. It can be bleached), bumbo seat, mobiles, crib soothers, monitors, diaper bags, play mats/gyms, changing pads/tables, and even bottles. One thing to keep in mind about anything baby related is if it has been recalled. Also, if buying things like helmets or car seats, they are no longer deemed effective or safe to use if they have been in a car accident and it's hard to know if bought second hand.
4. Furniture. I got this glider/ottoman set for $40 at a garage sale. It was a hideous hunter green/khaki checker pattern on the cushions so I just covered them with changing pad covers. (It's not a perfect fit, but it works and it was free. I already had the covers.)
   

   

    This t.v. stand used to be taller with a square for the t.v. to sit in. We got it for $10 at a garage sale in Wichita, KS right before we moved to Alabama (we actually loaded it into our moving van from the garage sale a day before we moved). I remodeled it about a year ago by taking off the top and now love it. Ironically, a lady was giving one just like it away for free on a Facebook buy/sell site so we have a matching on in the basement with the VHS player.
   

   

    I picked up a set of 4 of these for $5 a piece last summer in Alabama shortly after we first moved! Now, they were pretty gross to look at with yellowing paint, cobwebs and covered in dust. But it was fairly easy to wash them off and repaint them; and I was about 8 months pregnant, too! Where there's a will, there's a way.
   

   

   Some of our favorite furniture has been bought at garage sales through the years. Anything that can easily be wiped or scrubbed down without damaging the integrity is key.
5. Baby and kids' toys. I got this mint condition floor mat at a garage sale in Alabama last year and gave it to Benjamin for his 1st Christmas last year. They wanted $5 and said it was taken out of the package once and realized it didn't go with the décor so it was never even played on. I could tell it was in great shape because it was so clean and there weren't any bite marks like the ones my kids have added since last year. Side note, I also got that fan on the floor for a whopping $1 at a neighborhood garage sale in Goddard, KS about 4 years ago. It still works like a charm and doubles as the kids' white noise maker because it puts off a pretty good hum.
   

   

    This is a tub full of Legos that I gave Gabriel for his 5th birthday a few months ago. I got all of them (we're talking 5 Wal-Mart bags full with Spiderman guys, Star Wars guys-though Gabriel doesn't know those characters quite yet, cars, wheels, etc) for $5! Anyone who has boys and/or legos knows what a steal that is.
   

   

   Again, anything that I can wipe down, put in the dishwasher or washing machine. Some of my favorite finds over the years have been: Leap Frog activity table, riding toys, baby strollers, baby rattles, dinosaurs, stuffed animals, board games, and puzzles.
6. Kids and/or adult books and movies. I recently got these almost mind-condition favorites of ours for a mere $0.50 a piece.
   

   

   I especially like getting kids' books for less than $0.25, but have paid up to $1.00 if in good condition. I like to spend $1.00 on DVD's and $0.50 for VHS. 
7. Holiday décor. I got this beautiful nativity (it's probably close to a foot tall) at a Spokane garage sale for I think $10. I think it's beautiful. I keep it up all year round in the basement.
   

   

   Usually they are priced dirt cheap. I got a dozen cheap plastic Easter eggs last year for $0.10. We're talking pennies, here.
8. Appliances. You do have to know a little something about it before purchasing it, though. I honestly don't buy appliances at garage sales because I haven't really had the need, but my mother in law has had luck in the past. Come to think of it, our VHS player was a garage sale find from her and we use it all the time.
9. Home goods. My mother in law and I love looking for kitchen items at garage sales. Some of my favorites from over the years are: utensils (can openers, spatulas, pizza cutters, etc), popcorn popper, George Foreman grill, measuring cups/spoons, hot mitts, kitchen towels, glass pyrex pans, and both rugs I have in the kitchen currently. I also love looking for picture frames and mirrors at garage sales. I got this gold-painted wood frame at a garage sale here in Alabama for maybe $1 last year.
   

   

    This mirror I got at an estate sale in Kansas City for $15. I love it and it always reminds me of being newly married living in our 1 bedroom apartment. It has traveled to each of our 4 homes during our (almost) 7 year marriage.
   

   

   If you don't like the color of the picture frame or mirror, you can always paint them.
10. Outdoor goods. Again, you have to have some knowledge about what you are buying. I'd be clueless about most outdoor equipment (like lawnmowers, edgers, etc), but I see these things at garage sales constantly.
11. Crafting projects. Depending on what you have in mind, you can find some amazing deals on supplies. One sale in Washington, a guy had recently done a remodel job and was giving away extras for free. He had a whole box of small, plain white, ceramic tiles for free. I took about a dozen but would have taken the whole box had I not been moving across the country in a few months. Um, have you checked Pinterest lately for DIY projects involving tiles? I've done a few projects with them, but I had intended to do coasters with them. I also got free screen, which I use as backing for making earring holders with picture frames. Can't beat free stuff, right?
    

    

    Some of my favorite crafting items over the years have been: sewing scissors, buttons, jewels/beads, material/felt, needles/thread, glitter, paint, markers, crayons, colored pencils, stickers, and even paper.

So there you have it. Garage saling at it's finest. I hate to admit this, but I'm pretty sure from April to August, my hobby is garage saling. I also hate to admit that I have given my kids garage sale toys and clothes for numerous Christmases, Birthdays, and otherwise. And I sort of hate to admit that the majority of our furniture is second-hand. But there's one thing I'll never get tired of admitting: I love garage sales; I love the "green" aspect of garage saling; I love the adventure of looking for a treasure from someone else's "junk"; I love the adrenaline I get when I pull up to a sale and see in plain sight the long awaited items on my list in plain sight; and  I love saving money. Happy Money Saving Monday and Happy Easter Monday!



 

 



Money Saving Monday: Do It Yourself Crown of Thorns



I remember a few years ago seeing a picture one of my fellow Catholic friends posted on facebook of a crown of thorns she had made herself. Not only was it was big enough to be the centerpiece for her table during Lent, but it was beautiful. What a perfect reminder of Christ's suffering and death He endured for us! As a Catholic, when praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary, we meditate on the Crowning of Thorns on the 3rd Sorrowful Mystery. Every crucifix in our home (and we have enough to have at least one in each room, bathroom, and hallway thanks to generous guests at our wedding who gifted them to us) has an obvious crown of thorns on Jesus's head. Now that my kids are getting a little older (5) (3 1/2) and (17 months), I've been trying to explain what Lent is, what sacrifice is and why Jesus sacrificed for us.

Now rewind to a few weeks ago. I was doing some Spring yard work and clearing out old leaves from around the rose bushes in the front yard. The rose bush, full of thorny branches, kept pricking my fingers as I cleared around it's base. Then I realized the rose bush branches would be a perfect guinea pig for me to try a DIY crown of thorns.

This is how my crown of thorns turned out.

 

Do It Yourself: Crown of Thorns

 

1. Cut 7 or 8 six inch pieces of thorny branches. The longer the better. If you can, cut them around 12 inches.
2. Find some brown thread/string. I used some brown embroidery thread.
3. Wrap the thorny branch pieces in half or full circles and secure by tying the thread around the pieces.

It's that simple. I probably didn't need a tutorial, but there it is. I just have ours on our table with this random candle as a sort of Lenten centerpiece. It's big enough to fit on our heads and hurts! I've let the kids touch the thorns with their fingers and tried to use it as a teaching point for them to understand how much Christ endured during his passion. However, I did have to make a rule that no one is allowed to pick up the crown or place it on anyone's head...even your own head.

 

Ironically, the same day I made the crown of thorns, I received an advertisement for a local Christian store. I flipped through it and saw a crown of thorns for sale. They were asking, wait for it, $79.99! I couldn't believe it, so I took a picture of it to prove that I'm not making this stuff up. If you use the 25% off coupon in the advertisement, the price drops to $59.99. Still, I'd never pay that much for something you can do yourself for free.

I've seen some really cool ideas incorporating the Crown of thorns on Pinterest. Now, if you follow me on pinterest, please know that just because I may have pinned something, doesn't mean I've actually done it. I'll be honest, I haven't actually tried any of these, but Lent isn't over quite yet. If anything, maybe you could try them. Here are links for my Favorite Pinterest projects:
 

Top 5 Pinterest Crown of Thorns Projects

1. This one is from Catholic Icing. She has AMAZING Catholic ideas on teaching (a preschool curriculum), recipes, arts and crafts, saints costumes and so much more. Please check out her blog if you get a chance. Here, she takes a wreath and places (painted) toothpicks inside the wreath to make the thorns. Each time your child does a good deed or makes a sacrifice, they get to pull 1 thorn out of the wreath a.k.a. Crown of Thorns. The goal is to remove all the thorns by Easter and then transform the wreath into something beautiful on Easter morning. 
2. This one is from Waltzing Matilda. She makes a big crown of thorns and uses it as a centerpiece on her table with a purple (for Lent) candle burning in the center.
3. This one is from Sojourn Kids. They use paper crowns (think Burger King crowns or apparently you can purchase paper crowns at a craft store or you can make your own from construction paper) and decorate half with stickers, jewels, etc and make paper thorns on the other half. They call it, "Crown of thorns/Crown of glory" art project. It seems like a neat visual for children to see that Jesus was both the bearer of such suffering as fully man and also the bearer of all the glory as fully God.
4. This one is from Three Sided Wheel. Of course I'm going to add anything that has to do with chocolate. This one seem easy enough: pretzels sticks and melted chocolate. Layer them into a crown of thorns and allow to dry. In the blog she says it's a perfect treat for Good Friday. I'm pretty sure I'd make the chocolate crown with the kids on Good Friday and purposely not eat it until Easter Saturday night or Sunday morning (after mass). This way, the kids could learn a tangible lesson on sacrifice, which as I have been trying to teach my kids as, "Doing something that is hard because you love someone".
5. This one is from Catholic Inspired. She uses her palm from Palm Sunday (in 2 weeks from yesterday) to braid it into a crown of thorns. This link actually provides tutorials for lots of ideas on how to braid your palms. Never knew it until after browsing through her site, but apparently, I have always done the "4 square palm braid" that I learned from my mom as a girl.

So there you have it. Money Saving Monday tip is: go out to your yard and make a crown of thorns for Lent. Passion Sunday is this Sunday. The crown of thorns can be a perfect visual aid for your family as we journey into Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Happy Money Saving Monday!

Money Saving Monday: Meal Planning

Meal Planning. So, I guess this blog post could be the sequel to my earlier post on shopping at Aldi. In case you didn't get a chance to read it, I basically said that for the past couple years, I've been shopping for 95% of my groceries at Aldi and I do this every 2 weeks with a budget of $175-$200 each trip. I get the other 5% of groceries at Wal-Mart. When we moved to Alabama (almost) two years ago, we were hit with a 9% sales tax on all groceries-ouch! This was really wrecking my budget (and stressing me out because I really don't like grocery shopping and budgets in general, but my husband really likes budgets) and in order to trim all excess off what I was buying, I needed a way to make sure I was solely buying essential items. Thus, the 2 week meal planning menu was born.

Now before you get your hopes up, I have to be honest. We're not a paleo family...or a vegetarian family...or an organic family. I take most of my meal ideas from meals my own Mother and Mother in Law made, which were/are very much meat-and-potatoes type meals. After all, we're from Kansas and farming is in our DNA and ancestry. Don't get me wrong; some of my meal ideas are vegetarian and I could probably tweak some into a paleo diet. But basically, I buy my groceries from Aldi's selection that is priced the cheapest. For example, I buy bagged frozen chicken breasts in the freezer section; I buy a bag of baby carrots, not organic carrots; I buy canned cream of mushroom soup instead of making my own from scratch. So, keep this in mind when reviewing my menu ideas.

Also, I haven't perfected the method to my madness. I've read some blogs or talked to people who have excel documents or binders full of meals, menus, grocery lists, etc. However, mine are just on two laminated (if taping them with packaging tape counts) index cards.  I put magnets on the side of the refrigerator so I can easily find it, add to it, and easily take it with me to the store. One of the index cards holds "Meal Ideas" and the other holds the "2 Week Meal Plan".  The "Meal Ideas" card has a running list of meals that my family has loved and worked well in the $175-$200 budget. The "2 Week Meal Plan" is really two sided. On one side is just a rough, free-hand-drawn chart where I can fill in the meal ideas for a given 2 week period. Then, I flip the card over and write out my grocery list on the back, taking into account only the items for those meals, snacks, desserts, etc.

When making your "2 Week Meal Plan" chart, keep in mind that yours will probably look different than mine. For example, I only write down meals that we all eat together as a family. For us, that means Monday - Friday, I only have 1 meal (supper) on the list. And on the weekends, I have 2 for both Saturday and Sunday, since most weekends, my husband eats both lunch and supper with us since he's around (we save breakfast for him but he's usually either working or sleeping in). I also don't add a spot for lunches from Monday - Friday since I usually do something like macaroni and cheese, sandwiches, noodles, etc that doesn't necessarily need to be replaced every shopping trip. Also, breakfast is not listed on my chart because it's almost always pancakes and scrambled eggs or oatmeal. The occasional cheerios and yogurt does happen, but it's rare.

Staple Food Items I Buy every 2 Weeks, Regardless of the Menu

• 5 Dozen Eggs: Yes, I said FIVE DOZEN eggs lasts just long enough for 2 weeks.
• Milk: We use 5 gallons in a 2 week period (lots of little ones drinking whole vitamin D milk). I buy 5 gallons and it keeps for 2 weeks! We always drink it up before the expiration date. There has only been 1 time that I had a gallon of milk be sour to the point I took it back to the store and they gave me a complete refund. And get this, I didn't even have the receipt and half of the gallon was gone (I was dumping it down the sink when midway through I realized I should take it back for a refund). There were no questions asked! There are no hormones added to this milk. (The picture is 2%, but it shows in the yellow that there is no hormones added).



• 3 bags of Frozen Chicken Breasts: Most of my meals have chicken in them and the kids really like it over beef or fish. If I have 1 bag in the freezer when it's time to do the 2 week shopping, I'll only buy 2 bags. But I make sure to have 3 bags by the time I've finished my 2 week shopping.
• Apples and Natural (no sugar added) Applesauce: I also make sure I have at least 2 bags of apples (I prefer Honeycrisp after living in the Pacific Northwest and being spoiled by the amazing, fresh picked apples) after the 2 week shopping. They keep for a long time, I'm talking weeks. I will buy other fresh fruit at Aldi like pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes and go through those the first week. The second week we eat more applesauce and apples.  My 5 year old also takes applesauce to school with him every day at school.
• Peanut Butter.
• Honey: My kids prefer PB and H sandwiches over PB and Jelly.
• Pancake Mix: as previously stated, I buy 3 boxes and that usually lasts us 2 weeks.
• Oatmeal: I like to buy quick oats and old fashioned oats (Aldi has both) and mix them together. My 3 year old daughter LOVES oatmeal for breakfast and so do I, so we go through it pretty fast.
• Noodles: My kids love eating spaghetti and just plain noodles so I make sure I have some sort (bowtie, macaroni, tri-color, egg noodle) and Aldi has a pretty good selection.
• Crackers: My kids love snacking on crackers. Our Aldi favorites are: animal crackers, square cheese crackers, cheese/peanut butter sandwich crackers, vanilla wafers, and graham crackers. 

• Flour, Sugar, Powdered Sugar
• Fruit: (besides the apples) I like to buy Aldi grapes, pineapple (especially when it's on sale for < $1.00), blueberries and strawberries. The ONLY fresh fruit I have ever had problems with from Aldi is the strawberries. Once (and only once in the few years I've shopped loyally there) I found some slug holes in the strawberries). But remember that you can take back anything you are not satisfied with for your complete money back.
• Spaghetti Sauce (Traditional flavor): This is what I use for my pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce and it's also good for dunking cheese quesadillas in! It's amazing. So sweet and tangy. I prefer it over Ragu which I was raised on!





Potatoes: My husband says, "Potatoes are God's gift to the poor" and I'll admit, I love buying the 10 lb bag of potatoes for a few bucks. You can also get sweet potatoes for dirt cheap! I like to use them as potatoe fries (slice in French fry size pieces, toss with olive oil and bake for 425* for 45 minutes or so, season with garlic salt). I also like to use them with soups or as mashed potatoes.
Croissants: I try to make sure I have at least 1 tube.
Hamburger: I've tried the packed meat (like in the picture below) and I usually buy the 90%, 10% (out of laziness so I don't have to drain the grease, and I guess because it's healthier). When I do this, I separate it immediately when I get home into 4 pieces of hamburger and put them individually into 4 sandwich bags. This stretches the hamburger out and my kids don't really like hamburger enough to have it all for 1 meal.

• Bread: I prefer the whole wheat bread from Aldi that ranges in price from .89 a loaf to maybe $1.18 or so. I usually buy 2 loafs to get us through 2 weeks.
• Sharp Cheddar and Mozzarella Cheese: I usually buy 2 bags of each. Many of my recipes use cheddar cheese and I love the way both mozzarella and cheddar taste. Plus, the price can't be beat.

• Canned Beans: Green beans, Northern White Beans, Black Beans, and Pork and Beans. All are awesome and I use them all regularly!
• Frozen Vegetables: I like to have a bag of frozen peas, frozen mixed vegetables, and frozen broccoli in the freezer at all times. (I like the steam able broccoli the most that steams in the bag in the microwave)
• Brownies: Lastly, I like to keep a box of their plain brownie box mix in the pantry for if an event or party comes up. They are so good and make a huge pan (13 X 9, as compared to most 9 X 9). They also have a killer cream cheese addition on the back that I always get compliments for every time I make them!
• Light Sour cream
• Vanilla Yogurt. They have lots of flavors and even have greek yogurt that is pretty tasty. My kids prefer yogurt that doesn't have fruit in it.

As far as prices go, Aldi is considerably cheaper on the majority of items sold. I have a copy of one of my last receipts so you can get an idea of what things cost, at least for the Birmingham, Alabama area. 

Cream Cheese for $1.29, Kraft American Cheese (with no preservatives) for $2.79.

Whole milk for $3.39 is at least $.0.60 cheaper than Wal-Mart prices.

I love their maple syrup for $3.99, the 40 oz Peanut Butter for $3.49, 4 butter quarters for $2.49, 1 dozen eggs for $1.89.

 I even got some "extras" that I normally do not buy, like the cinnamon rolls for $2.99 and still stayed < $200.

 I love how the bananas are always $0.44/lb. The cheapest I've seen anywhere.

"2 Week Meal Plan" Card and "Meal Idea" Card



I know it's not the clearest picture, but this gives you an idea of what my "2 Week Meal Plan" chart looks like. Note that the weekends start with Sunday first on the left and Saturday is last on the right (for both rows). I use my "Meal Idea" list to get ideas of things that have worked in the past and also stayed in our budget.

This is what the flip side of the "2 Week Meal Plan" card. It is the essentials of what I need to make the meals on the chart, plus the staples (like 5 gallons of milk, 5 dozen eggs, a few boxes of crackers, etc.).

Again, not the clearest picture, but you get a general idea of how I keep track of my good "Meal Ideas". It's not anything fancy, by any means.

Our Favorite Lunch and Supper Meal Ideas

• Home made Pizza: we love supreme, sausage, pepperoni, banana peppers, green peppers, onions, black olives, mushrooms and the occasional plain cheese pizza. I get the yeast packets at Wal-Mart and it looks like this. It is really simple; it advertises as "30 Minute" pizza crust and it is true to it's name! You don't have to wait for it to rise, which I love.
• Meat Roll: It's sort of a calzone type roll with hamburger, canned diced tomatoes, cheese and whatever else you want to add. This one is from my Mother in Law and my husband's entire family eats this with honey either drizzled over top or to dunk each bite into. I have to admit, it's pretty good. I wouldn't make it if it wasn't good and my kids didn't eat it. I've made the dough from the yeast packets and I've also used croissants in a roll-up tube before. Both are good!
• Hamburger pockets: Basically, it's ground hamburger with cheddar cheese that I stuff into the triangular roll-up croissants. I try to make them look as circular as I can by using a square (2 triangular croissants in the shape of a square, not separated). It sort of resembles and tastes like bierocks, which we both also grew up with, minus the sauerkraut (which I love by the way).
• Hamburger Gravy over Noodles or Mashed Potatoes: Pretty self explanatory. I make the gravy by adding diced mushrooms, some minced garlic (1 T?), and chopped onions to ground hamburger. Then I add probably 1/3 cup of light sour cream, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, and milk to desired consistency. The kids LOVE this one, actually!
• Tacos
• Chicken Enchiladas
• Chicken Pot Pie: I buy the pie crusts where you can just unthaw the dough and bake it in the oven, then add the diced chicken breasts, 1 can of cream of chicken/cream of mushroom and bag of frozen vegetables.
• BBQ Pork in the Crockpot: A summer favorite. I've done pork loins and pork chops with this. You can also do BBQ chicken this way. Just put the meat in with the BBQ sauce (like half a bottle) and the crockpot do the cooking.
• Spaghetti
• Breakfast Casserole: I don't have one in particular I use; I look up different ones on Pinterest, usually. But it usually involves hash browns, sour cream, cheese, and bacon.
• Hamburgers and/or Hotdogs: Another summer favorite. We also like hot dog pockets (hot dog wrapped in croissants with cheddar cheese.
• Meatloaf
• Grilled Chicken Salad: We went on a salad kick last fall when I was training for my half-marathon and I haven't done them in awhile because I honestly got burned out on them! But I loved adding banana peppers, green peppers, avacados, tomatoes, cheese, and even the occasional bacon.
• Sloppy Joes or Sloppy Joe Bake: The Sloppy Joe Bake is basically the croissants on the bottom of a pan with the sloppy joe mix, topped with cheddar cheese, topped with another layer of croissants.
• Chicken Quesadillas: One of our all time favorites. I like to shred the chicken by boiling it for about an hour. Then I like to sate the onions, green peppers (and mushrooms if you like them) and mix it with the chicken. You can add whatever else you want. Some of our favorite add-ins are of course cheddar cheese, bacon, avocado, black beans and salsa. The kids are still not crazy about this, but they do love some cheese quesadillas dunked in ranch!
• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup: Canned tomato soup and I like to add a can of diced tomatoes to make it taste more like Tomato Bisque. I also like adding parsley and basil to the soup.
• Chicken Tortilla Soup: I like to make the chicken shredded, so boil a few chicken breasts for at least an hour. Then, add to the broth some chicken bullion cubes, 2 cans of white northern beans, 2 cans of black beans, and 2 cans of diced tomatoes or rotel. Top with light sour cream, green onions, cheddar cheese and eat with tortilla chips. This is another all time favorite, even for the kids! I got the recipe from one of my 6 sisters and love it.
• Hamburger Vegetable Soup: This recipe uses the crock pot and is one of Gabriel's favorite. Basically it is (however much you want to use. I've used 1/4 lb and 1 lb before) ground hamburger, 46 oz v-8 tomato juice, 1 can tomato soup, 1 can of diced tomatoes, and a couple bags of frozen vegetables. I like to add diced potatoes and minced garlic, too.
• Home Made Chicken Noodle Soup: I like to use shredded chicken. Add bullion cubes to the water used for boiling the chicken breasts. Add chopped carrots and celery and the egg noodles of your choice. My family loves to eat this over mashed potatoes and I have my husband hooked on this strange but yummy tradition. It makes the broth sort of creamy. And we also use either seasoning salt or celery salt on the top in our bowls.
• Tuna patties: This is from my Mother-in-Law and is so good. Mix 1 can tuna (with oil, not water) with about a half stack of crushed saltines and maybe a half diced onion. Make into patties and fry in a skillet with some oil. Awesome with ketchup, although my kids still turn up their noses.

These are not the sole meals I cook, but they are ones that go over well and that I can plan for on the budget to buy the said ingredients. Many nights we eat baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable or something similar. The above meals are ones that usually require specific ingredients other than what I may already have in the freezer or refrigerator. Also, this isn't taking into account fruit, snacks, etc.

I will say that I think in general, soups are a huge money saver but also very under-rated. Don't forget about soup, even in the summer! Whenever I make any of the 3 soups listed, they last us AT LEAST 3 nights of meals and usually my lunches for the following days. Plus, soup is just so filling that it doesn't take as much to make a warm, happy tummy. Try adding in some soup to your meal plan to stretch your dollar a little more.

Also, casseroles are another way to save money AND time. Do a double batch and toss the extra in the freezer for one of next week's meals.

I know my method isn't the neatest or prettiest or necessarily the healthiest, but it works for us. I hope in the upcoming years, I am able to buy more organic food, use home-grown food from my garden, and add more healthy options in our menu. But for the time being, it works. Hopefully you can draw some inspiration from my method and maybe even draw some cute little 2 week meal plan charts, too.

Happy Monday-Money Saving!



 

 





Money Saving Monday: Giving Haircuts

If asked 10 years ago, I never would have thought that I would be cutting hair for my husband and sons. Never. But I guess it only makes sense. You see, my husband is the 2nd in his family of 9 children. Of the 9, there are 8 boys. Including my father-in-law, can you guess who cut all 9 boys' hair growing up? That's right, my mother-in-law, Diane did! And it's a pretty cute story how she started cutting hair during medical school for her friends. Looks like that skill came in handy having 8 sons!

Christopher and I dated from senior year in high school and all through undergrad. Fortunately for him, we went to Newman University, which was local so he could still have Mom cut his hair during undergrad. When we got engaged junior year of undergrad, I knew I had to learn...and fast! I didn't have that much time to learn. We were getting married after undergrad graduation and moving that same week to Kansas City for Christopher to start medical school and for me to start my first RN position. Only a few hours away, we would still be able to travel "home" to Wichita fairly easily, but as his wife, the hair-cutting responsibility would soon be mine. So, basically I started sitting in and asking Diane to teach me as she cut his hair from our engagement on. I was thrilled when the Christmas before we got married, my mom and dad gave me a hair cutting kit! It wasn't a super expensive, big name-brand kit. However, it has been well loved and survived going on 7 years! The only thing we have replaced is the "beard trimmer" (or what I use for trimming side burns, neck hair, etc) because the original wasn't cuttin' it (pun intended). Honestly, it was apparently painful for my boys when I trimmed neck hairs and side-burns. We got a Wahl. It is well worth the money to upgrade and really wasn't too expensive considering all the money hair-cutting has saved us over the last almost 7 years.

My haircutting experience has been overall, pretty good! Luckily, my husband is very forgiving and pretty laid back and my boys are luckily too little to care what their haircuts look like. Christopher has NEVER made me feel bad, guilty or lousy from a bad haircut I've given him. The first solo haircut (without my mother-in-law looking over my shoulder or taking over when I messed up or gave up) was a little scary. I vaguely remember thinking it sort of resembled the bowl haircuts from the 90's.

I promise this isn't one of Christopher's worst ever haircut from me. Look it up. it's stock!

I don't think it was really that bad, but you get the idea. Thankfully, I didn't give up because it really has been a way for us to save some $$$ by the end of the year. I'm not even sure what a men's haircut would cost. But for those of you who do know, the savings only increases the more boys you have! I haven't had to cut Gianna's hair yet because she's only 3 and I'm letting it grow as long as it can for now. And besides trimming bangs, I'm not brave enough for my own hair yet, although I might try it in the future.

This is more likely one of the worst first haircuts ever given by yours truly, and of course it was right before Gabriel's baptism. 

This haircut ties for worst haircut ever given by me...and Gabriel's haircut isn't too wonderful either...

So, I just gave Gabriel a haircut and decided to do a tutorial for my adaptation of a crew cut. I leave the front a little longer, just because I was taught that way and my boys prefer it that way. Cutting a child's, or better yet a baby's hair is MUCH more challenging than cutting an adult's hair. These tips may help when considering cutting your little boy's hair for the first time.

Tips for Child Haircutting:

• Cut their hair when they are in a good mood. Well rested. Well fed.
• Bribe and bribe heavily. Usually, I give my boys a few chocolate chips or candy as a "reward" for sitting still during the haircut. Or I let them paint or do some fun activity afterwards.
• Put some aprons on them or cut their hair while they are wearing underwear or diaper only. I can't stand the little, loose, itchy hairs post-haircuts and I know my boys don't like them either. It just makes things easier afterwards for clean up.
• Distraction, Distraction, Distraction. Get out the iPads, laptops, iPhones, etc. I gave Gabriel a broken clothespin during his last haircut and asked him to fix it for me. It gave him something to fidget with during his haircut and helped him stay still.
• Choose an appropriate location for cutting their hair. I like to sit Gabriel up on a high stool in the kitchen so I don't have to bend over to cut his hair. But when my boys are babies, I cut their hair in the bathtub. That way, they can move around and play. I like to give the babies combs to play with during their haircuts. For some reason, they get so distracted with them and love chewing on them!
• Prepare them well ahead of time for what you will do next while cutting their hair. Gabriel just hates the "buzzer" (trimmer) and he knows it's always the last part of getting his hair cut, but I still warn him and take breaks with it if he is stressing about it too much.

Cutting Hair, the Tutorial

Step 1: Wet their hair and comb it out as flat as you can.

I like to use a wet towel for getting their hair wet. It's more controlled than a spray bottle and I can make it warm so it's not so traumatic. I also use the flat side of the comb (opposite of the teeth part) to get it flat against their forehead. It makes it easier to cut in a straight line.

Step 2: Cut bangs/front.

Remember that it's better to start of cutting only a 1/4 of an inch or so at first and do more if necessary than to cut too short and be stuck. Cut as straight as you can. Cowlicks make things a little more interesting. Gabriel has a cowlick on his right.

Step 3: Cut side-burns and hair around ears.

Again, remember with the side-burns that it's better to cut just a tad at first and then cut more if you like them shorter. I tend to accidently cut them too short right off the bat and then I'm left waiting for them to grow back in. When cutting the hair behind their ears, be sure to comb it over the top of the ear so it doesn't lie flat against their skin and accidently stay longer than the rest.

Just comb out the side-burns and cut it.

This is what I mean about combing the hair out on top of the ear. I usually trim it so it barely touches the tops/outside of their ears and go straight down to the neckline from there.

Step 4: Cut the back of the neck hair.

This is pretty straight forward. Just be sure to cut it as straight as you can.

I usually have them look down while cutting their neck line.

Step 5: Layering

Layering is my favorite part up to this point. You basically pull a strip of hair between your fingers parallel from their head and snip about a 1/4 of an inch (or whatever you cut for the rest of the hair around the front, ears, back of neck). You do the same for the cowlick on the back of their head, the side of their head (by side-burns), back of their head, and top of head towards the back of the neck. The only area to leave alone for now is the bangs and top of their head.

Just snip the hair sticking out on top of my fingers.

Again, cut the hair on top of my fingers, not under my fingers.

This is showing his cowlick at the back of his head and how you still layer around it.

Step 6: Layering the side-burns.

For this part, put your comb vertically between his ear and side-burn and comb out the hair towards his face/nose. Then just cut it vertically close to where the vertical part of the side-burn is.

Comb out the hair towards his nose/eyebrows.

Cut it vertically.

Step 7: Layering the top/bangs.

For this part, I pull the strip of hair between my fingers like I did when layering the rest of his hair, but I pull it in horizontal strips (from ear to ear) instead of from front to back. I do this so I can basically leave the bangs un-layered. I've had too many bad experiences with trying to layer the bangs too close to the front of the hairline and you end up with a super short, un-even haircut!

Pull the hair in horizontal strips (from ear to ear instead of front to back strips) when layering the top. This is also the farthest up towards his bangs I go. Any closer and you start messing up your straight line you cut on Step 1. 

Step 8: Trimmer for side-burns and neck hair.

This is the least favorite part for my boys but probably my most favorite part. Just hold the trimmer and touch it to their skin. Easy peasy. Trim under side-burns, next to side burns, and neck hair.

Using the dreaded trimmer.

I also use the trimmer to go up vertically along the side burns to even out any lines made from cutting the bangs in step 1.

Step 9: Shake off the hair, give rewards, and look at your handsome little guy!

Before....

After!

And after giving the haircut, there is one more trick that my mother-in-law taught me: the person receiving the haircut always sweeps up the hair. I guess I have a couple more years before I can reap the benefits of that one with Gabriel and definitely with Benjamin. But I will say I have never swept up the hair after Christopher's haircuts.

So, I highly recommend considering learning how to cut your loved one's hair. It's really not that hard and it is an investment! Especially if you end up having 8 sons some day. Happy Money-Saving-Monday!

I did all the guys' haircuts here and they don't look too shabby!

More of some better haircuts for my boys.